How to do the Expensive Areas Cheaply?

Sarah, For Scandinavia, don't dismiss hostels. There are a lot of hostels that have two person rooms that are quite a nice standard. I've stayed in a number in Sweden and Norway and they've all been really clean. Also, in the summer you will often find decent prices on business class hotels in the big cities. In Norway, the Thon hotel chain is reasonably priced chain (but still may be more than you want to spend). In the fjord region of Norway, you can find rooms for rent by individuals. I took a trip (by car) through Norway and we just winged it. Stayed in several rooms for let along the way and they were all reasonable. Some were lovely, some looked like grandma's place. All were very clean as is typical in Scandinavia. We just stopped when we saw a sign and inquired. The ferries between Stockholm and Helsinki, Stockholm and Tallinn, and other places can be a good overnight value. I've always gone for cheap inside cabins. While I can't sleep on trains, I have been able to sleep on the ferries ... although there are a lot of Scandinavians who party all night on them and drink the relatively cheap booze. Just about all the boats make a quick stop in the Åland Islands; these islands are not part of the EU, so that allows the boats to sell duty-free liquor. Any self-respecting Scandinavian resident makes sure to buy their duty-free allowance at the shop on the ferry and bring it back in.

continued ... If you are willing to camp, you can stay even cheaper. In Sweden, there are some deals for lunch so that is often the best meal to eat out. Look for the daily plate (dagens rätt) which is usually around 80 SEK. You will get a hot meal which will usually feature a traditional Swedish dish and also include a drink and salad. You already mentioned picnicing. In particular, in Stockholm I really like the food halls (saluhallen). My favorite is Östermalms Saluhall which is a beautiful market. There are lots of stalls where you can get prepared foods, fresh seafood, etc. While wine and beer in restaurants is expensive, it is more reasonable in the Swedish state-run liquor store called the "Systembolaget". It will be more expensive than Germany, but not outrageous.

This is EXACTLY the kind of advice I was looking for! We had a Swedish neighbor in Oakland who used to work on one of those ferries and told us about the crazy partying. Great advice, thanks so much! Can't wait to start planning for next summer!

Your advantage is that you can travel by car and rent appartments in more rural locations that are cheaper than the hot spots. Everyone knows how expensive it is to find any kind of lodging in Lucerne. But few people consider staying in the Emmental region. We rented a very affordable 2 bedroom + kitchen + washer appartment for 500 CHF/week with view of the Alps from the living room and one of the bedrooms. You needed a car to get there but it was in a central location as all the places we wanted to see were less than an hour away like Lucerne, Bern, Ballenberg ... We stocked up at an Aldi in Germany before crossing the border into Switzerland so that we had some staples and some beer/wine at decent prices for the week. For fresh stuff we went to the grocery store in the village. We even managed to eat out a few nights and in the village is was about 30% cheaper than in Lucerne. http://www.emmental.ch/en/index.cfm
http://www.kapfschwand.ch

You didn't mention home exchange - have you ever considered it? It's wildly popular in France and Switzerland. I see lots of listinga in Scandinavia and it's the only way I could afford to go. We are spending 3 weeks in Switzerland next summer in an exchange home so lodging will cost us zero. We also did it in 2010 for seven weeks - Italy, France and two places in Germany. Free. And it's a really interesting subculture - often families, frequently retired people, responsible homeowners looking for the same thing you are - manageable vacation costs. And more interaction with the local culture. The downside is you can't move every few days, but I prefer slow travel anyway. We are total fans of this method for the friendships we've made as well as the boost it gives our travel budget! ETA: I get the impression you may live on basewhich would rule out exchanging - but maybe you own a property in the States to exchange?

A $30 six pack is probably a slight exaggeration, but the $30 cheeseburger? Not unless it's a in mid-level sit down restaurant. Yes, fine dining is pretty expensive (and as you are probably aware, Scandinavia is in the midst of a food renaissance), but entry level food is as reasonable as anywhere else. At least in Oslo, lodging tends to be much cheaper in the summer than throughout the rest of the year. I stayed in a very comfortable hotel with an ideal location for about half of what it would have cost me a few months later. Prices in Belgium and the Netherlands are comparable to Germany. In fact, public transportation (non-Thalys) is usually pretty cheap compared to Deutsche Bahn. One probably obvious tip I can offer for Switzerland... you live less than a two hour drive (well, provided Stuttgart-area traffic cooperates!) from the border. Your initial costs for traveling to the country are probably lower than anyone else on this forum, so perhaps you can consider that factor as a cost saver. Also, you live closer to the cantons of St. Gallen and Graubunden. These receive considerably fewer international visitors, so lodging costs in the mountain resorts are somewhat cheaper. My go-to resort of choice in this area is Flumserberg, but there's probably others just as good.

In the UK. They have rooms with private facilities. http://www.lsetopfloor.co.uk/default.htm http://www.yha.org.uk/ A budget hotel chain who often have special deals. http://www.premierinn.com/ Another budget hotel chain but standards are variable (they often use older buildings) so check reviews carefully. Their booking system is quirky and to get the really cheap deals you may have to book each night as a separate booking! http://www.travelodge.co.uk/

Sarah, since - I guess - you will be flying to these places from Germany check out Opodo. Even though you individually pick your flights (you can even mix airlines) and a hotel that suits your requirements they make it one single calculation, so you only pay them their sales commission once. Even for short-notice business trips to London we use them. We get Lufthansa or BA flights and a decent hotel for much less than if booked separately. It's the same for Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo etc. Switzerland? You live close to it. Pack your own food and drive. All the Swiss people I know drive to Germany once a week to buy their groceries. Their current price level is a major problem for their own food industry, their farmers etc.

A good strategy is to keep scooping hotel deal sites for bargains that might appear at last minute (usually 3-7 days before they are good to use) and driving to these places. That is how I traveled on the cheap through most of Europe. Cities like Oslo are less busy on weekends, seldom you can find bargain deals on business-oriented hotels for weekend getaways. Even better than hotels are flat-style accommodations on industrial areas or near office parks that have some facilities like a small kitchen. Sure enough, there is nothing much you can do by just walking from there, but you can park your car and find your way with trams, subways etc. Once you have struck a good deal on your accommodation, there will be more money left for eating. Alcohol is extremely expensive on Scandinavia, there is really no way around that. It is expensive even for local standards of income. I didn't find food to be that much expensive than here in Netherlands or in London. An strategy that works almost everywhere on bigger cities is to splurge on lunches instead of dinners, there are usually good deals for lunches more than there are for dinners. Now, as for visiting the "Benelux", there are some different situations:
- Bruxelles, Luxembourg, Rotterdam, Antwerpen are cities far more busier during weekdays than weekends, so plan to visit on extended weekends and save on accommodation - reach out to DiningCity and other websites to find deals on restaurants - often, there are promotions and deals for museums and other sites sold at supermarkets and book/stationery stores with deep discounts

For the Baltic Region/Scandinavia - hotels can often be had in summer at deeply discounted rates if you book in advance. Summer is the off season for business and many of the business class hotels empty out. I stayed at a very posh one in Helsinki for no more than cheap pensions in Spain. The caveat is to book a month or so in advance on their website and the rate is non-refundable. Sweden and Denmark also have no-frills motel lodging: clean and comfy but nothing fancy. Great but reasonably priced food can be found in the markets. Most have sit-down areas and are great for lunch. Alcohol is expensive and to stay economical you'll need to limit your intake. But good dining is no more expensive than Paris or London. Flights to the Baltic region can also be found on the cheap. London is very expensive; the rest of the UK can be done very economically.

We too were concerned about the cost of travel in the Scandinavian countries but went to Sweden, Denmark, and Finland in June and found ways to keep costs down. In Stockholm for example, we stayed at the Omena Hotel - it's basic with no reception - you get a text message with a code for the front door and your room the day before your arrival. It's in a great location and very clean. By being extra-careful, we actually spent less money on food than usual. We ate larger meals for lunch and for dinner pizza, tacos, or yogurt from the 7-Eleven. In Denmark we stayed in a B & B with a shared bath, and in Helsinki we had great meals at the local market. We took the ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki and found it to be a fun experience - not the party boat that we'd heard about. It takes some extra research and effort but it's do-able!

I agree that Benelux is only a bit more expensive than Germany (the main difference being that lodging costs more). I wouldn't let cost worries stop me from going there. Scandinavia does indeed cost more, but there are differences between the Scandinavian countries in terms of prices. I was last in Denmark in 1991, so I can't comment on that. But when I went to Finland, Sweden, and Norway in 2003, in that order, I found that the prices escalated in that order too. And while Sweden was only a bit more than Finland, and there were various ways to save, Norway was quite pricey. If you are interested in Scandinavia, get Rick Steves Scandinavia ASAP. I found this book invaluable for saving money. Since Rick is...well, lets say "thrifty," he has found all kinds of good deals (particularly hotel specials and reasonably priced restaurants). As posted above, many hotels in these countries are cheaper on weekends and during the summer. Many Stockholm restaurants have lunch specials (something like $10 in 2003), so dinner was my only "expensive" meal. And the "city cards" (Stockholm Card, Oslo Card, etc) can be great deals. My "Stockholm a la Carte" cost me about $100 a day for a nice hotel right in the old town, all city transit, and almost all museums and attractions! While my Oslo card was $50 for 3 days for transit and museums (hotel was separate), I used $75 worth of value. I was struck (especially in Stockholm) how so many of the people who had these cards were natives of the country, who knew a value when they saw it. Do beware that while I loved Bergen, Rick has recently gone out of his way to point out that the Bergen Card is a worse value every year. continued..

continued.. Use-It is s student organization in Oslo and Copenhagen (and maybe other places too). They publish a guide for students (available from the tourist office) to help them save money, but anyone can follow the tips therein. I found a great, reasonably priced Vietnamese place in Oslo this way. Of course, the menu was only in Vietnamese and Norwegian; luckily, some of the food words of Norwegian are similar enough to German for me to have been able to order something (and actually get what I thought I was getting).

This is all fantastic advice everyone, thanks so much!! I bought the year-long car thing to go to Switzerland and have only used it once, so I think I'll try to do a last minute weekend stay soon, not for skiing but maybe snowshoeing or cross country if it's available bringing groceries from one of the German discount stores. And will start planning for Scandinavia for next summer. Thanks!

I didn't find London all that expensive - except for lodging which was a killer. The best museums are free (British, Victoria & Albert, National Gallery, etc.) and you can get discounted tickets to plays. Lately I've been staying a lot (relatively) in Ibis hotels and find them sufficient (but bring your own soaps, etc.). The beds are comfy, the rooms are clean, the locations are good and there's usually free internet. This year I was in Norway for 3 day trips (on a cruise) and couldn't believe how expensive everything was. The other Scandinavian countries are more reasonable. In the Netherlands, I stayed in The Hague and made a day trip to Amsterdam. I stayed in a very nice 4-star in the center of town for less than a 3-star in A'dam would have cost. The Hague is lovely and convenient for day trips to Delft (20 minutes on the tram), Rotterdam . . . everywhere, just about. I have lots more ideas - we can talk when I'm in Stuttgart December 10th, - save the date

This past August I stayed in Pontresina, in the Engadine part of Graubunden for 5 days. The name of my hotel was The Engadinerhof, and for SF105 per night I had a room (single) with bath/shower and toilet down the hall, huge breakfast consisting of about 30 choices (incl. all you can eat bacon/sausage and eggs) plus a four course evening meal that was pretty well gourmet. I literaly spent no other money on food while I stayed here. If I had stayed 7 days it would have been even cheaper (wish I had, tons of beaut. walking/hiking trails). Altho my room was very plain, but very clean, the common areas of the hotel were old world lovely, with free wifi. This whole area is very beautiful, with hundreds of kilometers of hiking/walking trails, and lovely towns to explore, not to mention the breathtaking mountain scenery. The people staying at the hotel were all Swiss, lots spoke English, I speak a bit of German, so I was able to learn lots about Swiss life. Almost forgot, if you stay at least three nights you get a card that gives you free travel on all buses, trains and high mountain lifts in the area. I spent two months in Switzerland, used a Swiss pass, ate lots of picnic meals and my daily expenses were no more than any other European country I've travelled in. I stayed in some hostels, very budget accom., and rarely ate in a sit down restaurant. Granted, in other countries I ate out a lot more, and stayed in a bit nicer accomodation, but my Switzerland trip has been my most memorable yet!

I think a good technique for Scandinavia is to take a Baltic Cruise. The major cities all face the sea, since it's the traditional mode of trade and travel in the area. With a cruise, the price covers your food, transportation and lodging - overall I think it's a reasonable way to tackle the area. I think some cruises start out of Rostock. If so, you could start cheaply. Check out vacationstogo.com or other online travel agent for last minute deals. We went in 2010 and ended up buying when the number of staterooms available on the itinerary we wanted was just about sold out, then booked our flight to Copenhagen the same day. For Switzerland. I might try making day trips into expensive areas but stay in a cheaper area across a border to keep the costs down. You can also pack a lunch from a grocery store, on the cheap side of the border, for your day trip. In Copenhagen, the groceries were expensive but not drastic. A bottle of French wine at a grocery store is reasonable. Fast food/Gyro type restaurants weren't too bad either. Sit down restaurants were pricey, so we generally avoided them.